Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that primary care staff delivering the Steps to Safety domestic abuse project are supported with effective referral routes to (a) other parts of the NHS and (b) specialist domestic abuse voluntary sector organisations.

As part of the cross-Government Violence Against Women and Girls strategy, the Department has committed to roll-out a domestic abuse and sexual violence referral service, Steps to Safety, across integrated care boards. This will ensure that general practices (GPs) in every area of England can connect victims and survivors with specialist services. The ambition is that by 2029 there will be national provision of Steps to Safety which will include:

• training to all staff in the GPs so they can identify and respond to domestic abuse and sexual violence;
• a specialist support worker linked to a group of practices to support GP staff and support and advocate for victims; and
• clear links with local specialist domestic abuse voluntary sector services to refer people into.